Samsung Electronics Co is replacing the head of its semiconductor arm, appointing a longtime memorychip veteran to spearhead efforts to catch up with SK Hynix Inc in the booming artificial intelligence (AI) arena.
Samsung named Jun Young-hyun the new leader of its most important business line. He replaces Kyung Kye-hyun, who is to head up Samsung’s Advanced Institute of Technology and the future business team.
Jun, 63, joined the division in 2000 and helped the company develop its basic DRAM and flash memory chips for smartphones and servers.
Photo: Bloomberg
The appointment comes after Kyung offered to step down from his post, a person familiar with the matter said.
Samsung has fallen behind SK Hynix in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, which have seen explosive growth because they are used for training AI models such as ChatGPT.
“It’s unusual for Samsung to do this management change in the middle of the year,” CLSA Securities Korea Ltd analyst Sanjeev Rana said. “This highlights Samsung’s desperate attempt to inject new energy and fresh thinking into its semiconductor business, where its lead has been slipping away.”
In addition, Jun’s appointment comes at an age when most Samsung executives retire, Rana said.
“His expertise was deemed necessary to help Samsung navigate the current challenging situation,” he said.
SK Hynix is the biggest supplier of memory used to develop ChatGPT-like services around the world. Its production capacity for such chips is almost fully booked through next year.
The firm plans to spend about US$14.6 billion building a new complex in South Korea to meet demand for HBM chips, which work alongside Nvidia Corp accelerators in creating and hosting AI platforms. It is also building a US$4 billion packaging facility in Indiana — its first in the US.
Samsung, which also makes logic chips and operates a foundry business, has also embarked on a global expansion that encompasses a US$40 billion investment in US chipmaking.
In the foundry business, Samsung has struggled to win big customers and narrow Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (台積電) overwhelming lead in producing advanced chips.
Samsung has begun mass production of its latest HBM product, eight-layer HBM3E, and says it plans to mass produce 12-layer HBM chips in the second quarter of this year.
The company expects its supply of HBM to increase by at least three times this year compared with last year.
US SANCTIONS: The Taiwan tech giant has ended all shipments to China-based Sophgo Technologies after one of their chips was discovered in a Huawei phone Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo Technologies Ltd (算能科技) after a chip it made was found on a Huawei Technologies Co (華為) artificial intelligence (AI) processor, according to two people familiar with the matter. Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that matched the one found on Huawei’s Ascend 910B, the people said. Huawei is restricted from buying the technology to protect US national security. Reuters could not determine how the chip ended up on the Huawei product. Sophgo said in a statement on its Web site yesterday that it was in compliance with all laws
SPEED OF LIGHT: US lawmakers urged the commerce department to examine the national security threats from China’s development of silicon photonics technology US President Joe Biden’s administration on Monday said it is finalizing rules that would limit US investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology sectors in China that could threaten US national security. The rules, which were proposed in June by the US Department of the Treasury, were directed by an executive order signed by Biden in August last year covering three key sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain AI systems. The rules are to take effect on Jan. 2 next year and would be overseen by the Treasury’s newly created Office of Global Transactions. The Treasury said the “narrow
TECH TITANS: Nvidia briefly overtook Apple again on Friday after becoming the world’s largest company for a short period in June, as Microsoft fell to third place Nvidia Corp dethroned Apple Inc as the world’s most valuable company on Friday following a record-setting rally in the stock, powered by insatiable demand for its specialized artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Nvidia’s stock market value briefly touched US$3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple’s US$3.52 trillion, London Stock Exchange Group data showed. Nvidia ended the day up 0.8 percent, with a market value of US$3.47 trillion, while Apple’s shares rose 0.4 percent, valuing the iPhone maker at US$3.52 trillion. In June, Nvidia briefly became the world’s most valuable company before it was overtaken by Microsoft Corp and Apple. The tech trio’s market capitalizations have been
SPECIALIZIATION: OpenAI is designing a new type of semiconductor with Broadcom that would run artificial intelligence software and respond to user requests OpenAI is working with Broadcom Inc to develop a new artificial intelligence (AI) chip specifically focused on running AI models after they have been trained, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The AI start-up and chipmaker are also consulting with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest chip contract manufacturer, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. OpenAI has been planning a custom chip and working on such uses for the technology for about a year, but the discussions are still at an early stage, the sources said. OpenAI declined
RSS